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Be Ye Therefore perfect; What does it really mean?

Posted by Mormon Heretic on January 3, 2009 in Christian, Intellectualism, Mormon, Mormon Culture, Scripture, Theology

There was a great post over at Mormon Matters on whether God can tempt us above that which we are able.  In short, I think that it is possible for us to be tempted more than we can bear,  Does it come from God?  I’m undecided.  But if you want to weigh in on that topic, click here.

I did engage in somewhat of a threadjack, and want to post some of the comments regarding the concept of perfection here.  What does perfection really mean?  Here are some of the comments there.  The formatting is a little goofy, but here is the essence.

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Rachel and Leah: a Modern Perspective

Posted by Mormon Heretic on January 3, 2009 in Christian, History, Israel, Judaism, Marriage, Mormon, Movie/Book Reviews, Women

A few months ago, I posted a topic about Marriage Fitness.  This has become my New Year’s resolution.  I went ahead and bit the bullet by purchasing the Lone Ranger course.  The author is Mort Fertel, and he makes no illusions that his method is a quick or easy solution to a better marriage, but he does guarantee it works, if followed.  Part of the package includes a book with the same name.

He has an interesting perspective on the Biblical story of Rachel and Leah.  As we all know, Jacob (who later changed his name to Israel), greatly loved Rachel.  After working for 7 years to marry Rachel, he was duped into marrying Rachel’s sister Leah, and then had to work another 7 years to marry Rachel.  Fertel makes an interesting note that Jacob didn’t complain that he married Leah, and was satisfied to know that he could still have Rachel.

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Mormons are best prepared

Posted by Mormon Heretic on December 26, 2008 in Mormon, Mormon Culture

This AP article was the cover story at 10:50 pm MT on MSNBC.  It says that Mormons are the best prepared group for an economic downturn.  Comments?

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The 3 Kings – Part 2

Posted by Mormon Heretic on December 25, 2008 in Archeology, Christian, Christmas, Early Christian History, History, Holiday, Mormon, Movie/Book Reviews, Movies

I talked previously about the Wise Men and their part in the Christmas Story.  Not much is known about them, but there are quite a few interesting legends.  For example, we assume there are 3 Wise Men, but some ancient painting sometimes show as few as two, and sometimes as many as four.  Names and legends have even sprung up to provide more information about these men.

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The Story of Hanukkah

Posted by Mormon Heretic on December 21, 2008 in Apocryphal Stories, Canon, Catholic, History, Holiday, Israel, Judaism, Mormon, Old Testament

My little boy is in kindergarten. Along with the normal Christmas decorations he has been working on, he came home with a menorah, the candle Jews use to celebrate Hanukkah. (Now that I’m finally out of school myself, I plan to post more frequently–it was a tough semester.)

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Astrology in the Christmas Story

Posted by Mormon Heretic on December 13, 2008 in Christmas, Early Christian History, History, Mormon, Movie/Book Reviews, Science

In my quest to find out things that aren’t generally well known, I came across a DVD called Mystery of the Three Kings by Questar Entertainment.  I thought it brings up some really interesting points, some which really add to the Biblical story, while some details are a little strange.  Here are some of the interesting things I took from the video.

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Bible Controversy

Posted by Mormon Heretic on November 30, 2008 in Apocryphal Stories, Book of Mormon, Canon, Christian, Early Christian History, History, Intellectualism, Mormon, Movie/Book Reviews, Movies, Old Testament, Science, Scripture

Many critics of the Book of Mormon claim there is no archaeological evidence.  The Bible is assumed to be completely true.  MSNBC has a link about a PBS show about archeaology of Bible that recently appeared on Nova.

William Dever, from the University of Arizona, is one of my favorite scholars.  Let me quote from the PBS Article: Continue Reading »

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Venison for Thanksgiving Dinner, anyone?

Posted by Mormon Heretic on November 23, 2008 in Christian, History, Holiday, Mormon

Ok, apparently we’re eating the wrong stuff for Thanksgiving. According to Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621: “we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor.” More can be discovered at the History Channel website.

I have to say, I’m not one who enjoys cranberries. What do you like/don’t you like for Thanksgiving?

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What are you Thankful For?

Posted by Mormon Heretic on November 14, 2008 in Christian, Holiday, Mormon

Between all the Halloween decorations, and Christmas parties, it seems that Thanksgiving gets short shrift. So, I thought I’d try to help give this holiday some of it’s due.

On Tuesday, I actually drove to my 2nd job early, and had enough time to grab a bite to eat before teaching my class. As I sat down to eat, I overheard a woman in the cafeteria ask a blind man what help he needed. He needed to go to the bathroom, and she replied, “well, I’ll have to get a man to help you.”

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Strange Dreams – When GA’s disagree

Posted by Mormon Heretic on November 8, 2008 in History, Mormon

My friend Bored in Vernal (aka BiV) has an interesting post about a non-producing Gold Mine in Utah, and some general authorities with differing views on it,  Check it our here.

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